Black Ice in Ruse Sends More Than 120 People to Hospital

A total of 123 patients with various injuries have been treated after slipping and falling in Ruse over the past 24 hours, according to data from the city’s two hospitals. Emergency number 112 received 113 calls linked to the icy conditions that effectively blocked the city. The situation prompted the declaration of a non-teaching day in four municipalities across the district.

Nearly 200 municipal workers are clearing and treating pavements to prevent further icing in Ruse. The municipality has introduced temporary preventive measures that apply for today only.

Deputy Mayor of Ruse, Eng. Nikola Lazarov, said:
“Public transport in the city of Ruse is completely free for residents and visitors. An additional preventive measure is that today has been declared a non-teaching day. All municipal car parks are also free of charge.”

Despite continuous overnight efforts to treat streets and pavements, pedestrians were still advised to move with extreme caution this morning.

Petar Petrov, a local resident, said:
“Yesterday I fell, my daughter fell and injured herself. My back still hurts. Today it should have been a school day because now the ice has melted. Yesterday was extremely dangerous.”

Another resident added:
“Yesterday it really should have been a non-teaching day, because today it’s already walkable. It’s mainly for the children. You couldn’t get to work at all – neither by car nor on foot. It was terrifying.”

In addition to Ruse, pupils in the municipalities of Slivo Pole, Byala, Dve Mogili and the village of Obretenik are also staying at home.

The district governor of Ruse, Dragomir Draganov, said:
“All settlements in the Ruse region have electricity and water supply. There is no state of emergency, so people should remain calm. No ice drift is expected. Only in the basins near the two ports is there ice, which is being broken up. The overall situation is calm.”

The main roads from the national road network in the region are reported to be passable and treated against icing.